Improvement in thill-supports



A. E. TEAL & C. E. NELSON.

THILL-SUPPORT.

Patented May15,1877.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED E. TEAL, OF GREENFIELD, AND CHARLES E. NELSON, OF GIGERO,

` INDIANA.

IMPROVEMENT IN THlLL-SUPPORTS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 190,727, dated May 15, 1877; application tiled April 20, 1877.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, ALFRED E. TEAL, of Greenlield, Hancock county, and CHARLES E. NELSON, of Cicero, in the county .of Hamilton, and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Thill- Supporter; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The nature of our invention consists in the construction and arrangement of a device by which the shafts or poles of carriages or other vehicles may be held out of thev way when desirable, thereby lessening their liability to become injured, and also to facilitate the labor of bitching horses to carriages, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth.

In the annexed drawings, which fully illustrate the invention, Figure l is a side elevation. Fig. 2 is a central section; and Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6 are detail views of our invention.

A represents the spring-bar of a vehicle, to the' front side of which, near the top, is fastened an eyebolt, a., and in this eyebolt is hung a buckle, B, which may thus swing or move in any direction.

The buckle B is formed of a single metal plate, with a hole, b, at one end, through which the eye of the bolt or screw a is passed. Below thehole b is formed a slot, b1, making a cross-bar, b2, from the top of which projects a central pin or tooth, The outer end of the buckle is formed with a depressed loop, d, and between this loop and the cross-bar b2 is an elevated loop, d.

C represents a strap, of leather or other pliable material, fastened in the buckle B by passing the end ofthe strap over the loop d, under the loop d', over the cross-bar b2 and the pin or tooth then entering one of a series of holes in the strap. The end of the strap is then passed through the slot b1, under the cross bar b2, and over the loop d.

This makes a very secu-re fastening, and at the same time the strap can be easily and quickly changed, so as to ilengthen or shorten the same, as may be required.

At the other end of the strap C is fastened a plate or dat casting, D, by passing the end of the strap through a slot, e, in said plate, and bending the same under backward, and then riveting the plate and two thicknesses of the strap together, as shown atf. On the end of the plate or casting D are formed two hooks, Dl and D2, projecting on opposite sides of the plate, and forming, as it were, a spear or other suitably-shaped head on the end of the plate.

Gr represents an ordinary staple of any sultable dimensions, to be fastened lengthwise to the rear side of the cross-bar or whifdetree of the thills or on poles of two-horse carriages.

When the thills or pole are raised, they may be held in an elevated position by allowing either one of the hooks Dl or D2 to catch on said staples. If the bottom hook D2 be placed on the staple G, the thills cannot be lowered until said hook is removed by hand; but if the upper hook D1 be passed from underneath upward to catch in the staple, then by simply raising the thills or pole a trifle more the said hook Dl will disengage itself and drop down, allowing the thills or pole to be lowered. This releasing of the thills or pole can therefore, in this case, be done by the person bitching the horse while standing at or near the head thereof. s

On the front of the spring-bar A is secured a catch, E, for holding the buckle B steady, and prevent the same from scratching and injuring the paint on the spring-bar. This spring-catch is composed of a straight bar, with a lip, h', projecting from the center, to be embedded in the spring-bar for keeping the catch in position, it being fastened by a single screw, la, through the center, as shown. From the ends of this bar project inclined spring-flanges h h, which grasp and hold the buckle.

On the back of the spring-bar A is fastened a headed pin or screw, m, for hanging the hook on when not in use, the plato l) heilig and strap C, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own we aix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

ALFRED E. TEAL. CHARLES E. NELSON. Witnesses:

W. P. WHITAKEB, DAVID C. CORNELIUS. 

